Keynote speakers

Distinguished Research Fellow, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Mervyn Jones is a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Optical and Semiconductor Devices Research Group, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London, where his interests are in nano devices and their fabrication. He has degrees in Physics, Materials Science and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, from Imperial College London and more than 30 years research experience in industry and universities on solid state devices and lithography. He is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, technical referee and subject expert for the European Commission. He has also been the director of a university spin-off company. He has been responsible the Continuing Professional Development Centre at Imperial College London and has an active interest in engineering education. In 2010 he was the principal organiser behind a unique 2-day invitation discussion meeting at Imperial entitled ‘Educating Engineering Leaders’, which attracted 150 international educational leaders. Outcomes from this were published in the EJEE, co-authored by Esat Alpay. He has published widely on both technical and educational issues. He is active in international engineering education forums and has presented many invited education talks. He was made a SEFI Fellow in 2013, has been President of the IACEE 2004 -2008, and an Executive Committee member of IFEES, 2006-2008.

Gary Downey is an ethnographic listener interested in engineering studies, making and doing in STS, and questions involving expertise and personhood. Trained as a mechanical engineer (B.S. Lehigh) and cultural anthropologist (Ph.D. Chicago), he is Alumni Distinguished Professor of Science and Technology Studies and affiliated faculty member in Women’s and Gender Studies.

Downey is author of The Machine in Me: An Anthropologist Sits Among Computer Engineers (Routledge), co-author of Engineers for Korea (Morgan & Claypool), co-editor of Cyborgs and Citadels: Anthropological Interventions in Emerging Sciences and Technologies (School of American Research Press), co-editor of What Is Global Engineering Education For?: The Making of International Educators (Morgan & Claypool), and author of the multimedia course Engineering Cultures (Virginia Tech).

He is editor of the Engineering Studies Series at The MIT Press, the Global Engineering Series at Morgan & Claypool Press, and the journal Engineering Studies: Journal of the International Network of Engineering Studies. He is co-founder of the International Network for Engineering Studies. He has been Distinguished Lecturer at the American Society for Engineering Education and Keynote Lecturer at the World Congress of Chemical Engineering and Brazilian Society for Science and Technology Studies (ESOCITE.BR).

At Virginia Tech, he is winner of the William E. Wine Award for career excellence in teaching, XCaliber Award for high-quality instructional technology, and Diggs Teaching Scholar Award for original scholarship in teaching.

He received the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest faculty award in the Commonwealth. Read more at VT News and in VT Magazine.

He serves as President of the Society for Social Studies of Science.

His current research uses historical ethnography to examine how engineers attach themselves to countries, framing education as techno-national formation. One goal is to extend critical analysis to critical participation, a version of making and doing in STS, to enable both engineers and STS scholars to better identify and reflect critically on their expertise, identities, and commitments.

Aldert Kamp is the Director of Education for the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft, the Netherlands since 2007. He is deeply involved in the rethinking of higher engineering education at university level with a horizon of 2030. More than 20 years of industrial experience in space systems engineering and more than 10 years of experience in academic teaching and educational management have given him the insight in the capabilities tomorrow's engineers need in the future world of work, and how to make this happen in engineering curricula. Aldert has been involved in university-level education policy development, reconstruction of engineering curricula and audits of Dutch and international academic programmes. He is a member of the Council of the CDIO Initiative and TU Delft Leader of the Dutch 3TU Centre of Engineering Education (CEE) that facilitates innovations in higher engineering educational programmes within and outside the Netherlands. He is also involved in the Educational Leadership Course produced by the Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft and University Leiden as a board member and trainer.

Ville Korpiluoto leads the activities of Demola Tampere, the famous student innovation project platform. Demola produces innovation projects co-created by university students and project partners. Demola was established in Tampere (2008) and is growing rapidly, nowadays operating internationally in almost 20 different locations.

Demola Tampere launches annually three campaigns including 70 Demola projects with 50 project partner companies and 400 students. Projects start from existing need or problem and result to tangible concepts, demos and prototypes. Demola Tampere is located at the New Factory innovation center in the historic cotton factory in Finlayson area.

Tampere University of Technology is at the leading edge of technology development and a sought-after collaboration partner among the scientific and business communities. The University produces competent graduates who enter careers in the different sectors of society.